


Quest for Japanquest

by ChibiTabatha



Category: TWRP | Tupper Ware Remix Party (Band)
Genre: Crafts, Excessive Swearing, Gen, Japan, Miku Pedal, Minor Injuries, So much Vocaloid, Swearing, Valentine's Day, Weeb Knowledge, White Day, accidental injury, holiday fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:09:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27587936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChibiTabatha/pseuds/ChibiTabatha
Summary: The guys experienced several Earth holidays. Most of them mean cheap as heck candy the day after. But the introduction to White Day, and subsequently, Japan, through the eyes of their young adopted human, brings them thier own sense of joy. Featuring Over-Sized Stuffed Animals, Weeb Knowledge, The introduction of Vocaloid and the eventual Miku pedal. Manga, Anime, the whole nine-yards.
Relationships: The Guys & Original Character
Kudos: 4
Collections: TWRP Big Bang 2020





	1. Valentine's Day

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my TWRP Big Bang 2020! It takes place in the same universe as everything else, but you don't have to read anything else. I promise.
> 
> My partner for this was Ari. Ari can be found on [Tumblr](https://blookangaroo.tumblr.com/), [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Bloo_Kangaroo), and [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/bloo_kangaroo/). He did both the art, and the mix for this fic. Here is [The Playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3krjQWV9hIU4sPIQ9pp0JM?si=agV0plaQS0qqoj622Cy_tA), I'll be placing the art into the fic and you will see all the links to find Ari there as well.

Halloween was both the best and wildest holiday he'd experienced with proper human guidance. Christmas was both the tamest and most intense holiday. Also the first one he and the gang really experienced. Their neighbors gave them a stack of VHS tapes, and lent them their VCR to watch them.  
  
Christmas was, for young humans, a magical experience. A large man in a red, fur-lined suit would bring toys to good little boys and girls, and coal to those who had been naughty. Sung initially thought that that was a little odd. That parents were okay with some strange man watching their children at all hours of the day. As their video education continued, they soon learned the reason behind that.  
  
Christmas for adult humans was far more material. Gifts often lamented over for days before being purchased for the receiver’s joy or chagrin. It appeared to be more driven by card companies, and other commercial businesses.   
  
They had a box in the attic marked ‘Many Fucking Lights’. It was as exciting as their house got during the winter season.  
  
But as the winter season drags on, there’s another commercial holiday: Valentine’s Day. Filled with red, pink, and white wrapped items, chocolates, balloons, and hearts.  
  
The guys liked the days after, sales on chocolates and heart shaped candies were usually pretty bomb. Kinda like the Halloween candy sales. Then the Easter candy sales.   
  
Thanksgiving was weird, and even with research on the internet, he wasn’t too sure what the big deal about it was. Also Canada celebrates it in October, while the United States celebrates it in November.  
  
There were a couple of other holidays that were interspersed throughout the year. Days for mothers and fathers, for families, for celebrating the changing of the calendar year or the lunar year.  
  
There were just too many holidays and it just felt arbitrary to pay attention to them all.  


* * *

This year, the guys banded together to buy Tabs a valentine gift. A day of love, and they wanted to show their adopted human that she was part of their hodgepodge alien family.  
  
“What do girls like?” Meouch was staring at the ceiling from the couch.  
  
“THIS IS NOT CHRISTMAS OR A BIRTHDAY GIFT. IT CAN JUST BE A HEART SHAPED CHOCOLATE, WITH A CARD FILLED WITH OUR INTENTIONS.”  
  
Sung grimaces. “That doesn’t sound right. Also I don’t want her folks getting the wrong idea. I like this city. Don’t want to have to flee.”  
  
Phobos nodded in agreement, hands poised to contribute, but faltering in the end.  
  
“Yeah. Makes sense. But a card could work. Fill it with feelings, and junk.” Meouch’s head rolled forward.  
  
“A BEAR, WITH OUR NAMES STITCHED ON THE HEART IT HOLDS.”  
  
‘ _ That could work, or put the band name on it. She does love our music. _ ’ Phobos tilted his head side to side like he wasn’t too sure either.  
  
“We should make it!” Sung jumped up from his spot on the coffee table.  
  
“Are you out of your mind?” Meouch’s jaw fell open.  
  
‘ _ Can you even sew? _ ’ Phobos raised a single brow.  
  
“Absolutely not! How about you Havve?” Sung placed his hands on his hips with a triumphant grin.  
  
“NO.” The android shook his head while his LED eyes flickered slightly.  
  
“Well that’s fine! We have time to learn!”

* * *

They did not have time. Nor enough bandaids.   
  
Nor patience. Nor fabric.

* * *

“Another bag from FabricLand? What are you guys doing over there with all that stuff?” Tabatha leaned over the fence separating their backyards.  
  
“Crafts.” Sung hissed as he stabbed himself with the needle again.  
  
“That’s ambiguous as hell.” She rested her chin on crossed arms.  
  
“Yeah.” He held up the two pieces of fabric he was trying to stitch together free hand. They were loose and he could see between them. “Shit.”  
  
“You want some help?”  
  
“You can sew?” Sung put down his sewing supplies and turned to look up at their adopted human.  
  
“Enough to get me by.” The girl reached out to brush an errant strand of iridescent hair from mirror eyes.   
  
“Phobos seems to have a grasp on it. We’ll see how he does helping me out.”  
  
The small human frowned. “You’re all learning to sew? Do you need my sewing machine?”  
  
“No, no. It’s fine.” Sung collected up his scraps and the plastic bag by his feet. He waved to his neighbor before shutting himself back into the house.

* * *

Phobos also was no good at sewing two pieces of fabric together. No one was. Meouch used a stapler at one point. Havve used hot glue.  
  
They were a disaster. They missed the last Valentine’s Day, but Sung really wanted to make it for the next one.  
  
“So I think we should let her show us how to sew. Just basics, how to get two pieces of fabric together, buttons. Things like that?” Sung threw down the mangled remains of his small bear attempt.  
  
‘ _ She offered us her sewing machine didn’t she? Wouldn’t utilizing that make our lives easier? _ ’ the dark skinned alien signed.  
  
“THERE ARE OTHER ISSUES WITH USING THE MACHINE. WE STILL HAVE TO FINISH IT BY HAND. I OVERHEARD AND GOOGLED IT,” the drummer seemed to sigh.  
  
“I also think it would take away some of the feeling behind it,” the keytarist pouted.  
  
The bassist rolled his eyes before running a hand through his mane. “That’s our Sung. All or nothing, huh? Fine, get Short-stack to teach us.”  
  
Sung beamed, “Perfect!”

* * *

The human grimaced at the sight of their dining room turned craft den. Sung could vaguely understand. There were piles of fabric everywhere, spools of thread abandoned on the floor, and one of their needle organizers was currently gutted, needles all over the wooden surface of the table.  
  
“What the crap guys…” Tabatha picked her way through the wreckage. “There’s so much crap everywhere. What have you guys been trying to do?”  
  
The guys all exchanged glances.  
  
“I want to fix my space suit.”  
  
“I want a new pillow for my bed.”  
  
“A PADDED BENCH FOR OUTSIDE.”  
  
All three spoke at the same time while the Lord just shook his head. They were so screwed.  
  
“I see, you all want different things. Well, I can help with some of this at least. Let’s start with a ladder stitch.” The girl pulled up one of the chairs and motioned for the guys to join her. “Meouch, pass me some of that white fabric behind you. Phobos, I spy a dark coloured thread under your chair. Can I have it please?”  
  
The two pushed forth the requested items. “Thank you. Now I want to see you all thread a needle before I even start to ensure I’m not getting ahead of myself here.”  
  
Tabatha’s sewing boot camp had begun.

* * *

By the end of the first lesson, they could sew two pieces of fabric together, which was better than where they had been at.  
  
They had attempted buttons next. The four-hole ones were recommended for clothing, but the girl also said they could be a little difficult. Almost all the guys glazed over the moment she stated not to attach the button too close to the fabric they were attaching it to.  
  
Havve pulled out the center of his button while trying to work it into a hole. Phobos and Meouch ripped the fabric around the button while attempting to close it. Sung hadn’t cut long enough thread and ran out half-way through, so his button wasn’t even fully attached.  
  
The human sighed and shook her head at them. “Well, it’s a start. Practice these two techniques, and then I’ll see you in a week to work on the button thing. Remember. Not too tight to the fabric. It needs a little bit of give so you can wrap the long end of the thread around to cinch it and give it a little more stability. If it’s too tight to the fabric, you’re going to break something.”  
  
The guys were still engrossed in the fabric in their hands.  
  
The human huffed a small laugh, “And clean up this nightmare. Buy some bins from Walmart or something. Good night!”  
  
The guys startled when their front door slammed shut, and Sung predictably stabbed himself with the needle in his hand. “SHIT!” he cursed, shaking his hand roughly.

* * *

They each held in their hands small stuffed hearts. After a week of practical use of their sewing skills, they were feeling a little better about it. They had even gone online and started looking up embroidery. Which seemed a lot like sewing, but instead of bringing two pieces of fabric together, it was used to put names or pictures onto fabric. So on each of the small hearts, were their names.  
  
Tabatha showed up to a slightly less disastrous craft nightmare, but now all the fabric was piled in a corner, and a small dollar store garbage can held all the spools of thread. She shook her head, “Well, it’s a little better than last week I suppose. I’ll give you guys that. Alright let's see how you all did.”  
  
As the guys slowly showed the human their stuffed hearts with their basic embroidery, they gauged her reaction. She hummed and flipped them around, poking and prodding at their stitches. “This is really great guys!” Tabs ran a finger over their names, “You even learned how to embroider. I’m really proud of you guys!”  
  
Sung ruffled her hair, “Wouldn’t have been able to do it without you.”  
  
“Yeah thanks kiddo.” Meouch gave her a thumbs up from his chair.  
  
“WE ARE FOREVER GRATEFUL LADY TABBY.”  
  
Phobos grasped her forearms and pressed his forehead to hers. She squeezed the guitarist’s arms before stepping back.  
  
“You’re welcome guys. But I don’t think you guys need my help anymore.” She motioned to the mess around them, “Unless you need help with this mountain of stuff?”  
  
Phobos smiled, ‘ _ No, I think we have a handle on it now. But since you’re here, a couple rounds of Smash? _ ’  
  
“You’re on.”

* * *

The bear was huge. A mild miscalculation on their part really. It didn’t have to be almost four feet tall. But it was. And there was no turning back now.  
  
They had added in the hearts they had sewn that first week into the bear. A stuffed bear with four hearts.  
  
The faux fur had been miserable to work with. Lining it up and getting the needle through the fabric had been miserable. But the end result was worth it.  
  
They had made a shirt for the bear with ‘TWRP’ embroidered on it with rough versions of their instruments around it.  
  
Along with a card penned by Phobos about their intention to ‘adopt’ the human. Their gift was complete.  
  
“But where are we going to put it? It’s not even Halloween yet.” Meouch crossed his arms in thought.  
  
“We’ll leave it in Phobos’ room. She doesn’t go upstairs, and when she does, it’s always our rooms.” Sung lifted the bear up by placing his hands under the armpits. “Cool?”  
  
Phobos sighed, ‘ _ I suppose. _ ’

* * *

The day was upon them. Hogan had asked her to come over in the afternoon, and she agreed. The bear sat on their couch, and Sung wondered again, why on earth they had made it so big.  
  
“Guys? Havve said you wanted to see me? Are you guys going on tour again with like, a two day warning again?” The girl closed the door behind her, even as she entered the house. Slowly she approached the living room, “Well?” She entered the room and looked around at them, eyes glancing off the large bear.  
  
“Happy Valentine's Day, Kiddo.” Meouch lifted the bear up and held it out to her. Phobos held the card out to her as well.  
  
“What’s all this, then? You guys have never celebrated this before.” She took the card and gently took the bear from the Commander.  
  
She sat on the couch, even as the guys all watched her. She leaned up against the large bear, opening the card and letting her eyes drift over the words inside.  
  
Her eyes slowly started to water, and Sung began to panic slightly. What if they had assumed wrong? What if she didn’t want to be part of their weird intergalactic family.  
  
“And you idiots made this monstrosity? Where on earth am I going to put it?” Her laugh was wet, but genuine. Rubbing at her eyes she smiled up at them. “Of course I’ll be ‘adopted’ by you. Just don’t tell my mom. She’s forever mad about the time you launched our barbeque into space.”  
  
This time they all laughed in relief, all piling on the couch to wrap up their little human.  
  
“But seriously, where am I going to put this huge bear? I love him though. He’s great. I’ll have to get you guys back for White Day, okay?”  
  
Sung blinked at the small girl, but Meouch voiced their shared thought, “White Day?”


	2. White Day

White Day was March fourteenth. A month after Valentine’s Day. It comes from Japan, and appears to be when those who received gifts, return gifts. Where Valentine’s Day uses red ribbons for gifts, White Day uses the titular white ribbon.  
  
It was rather fascinating, also it appears that in Japan Valentine’s Day was intended for girls to give guys chocolate, and White Day for guys to return the favor. It was odd, but mildly curious.  
  
When they managed to get the information out of their new family member, her face slowly turned more and more red, as her voice got quieter and quieter. Tabby was embarrassed. Sung wanted to pester her about it, but thought better of it, since he wanted more information.  
  
Such as: “How do you even know about a holiday that’s not even in Canada?”  
  
The human twiddled her thumbs together, the card under her hands bending against the pressure as she pushed them down slightly. “You guys probably don’t know this, but while you were on tour a couple of years ago, anime got real popular in school. I was enamored by the stories. I bought manga, I rented DVDs, I found ways to pirate Japanese episodes with English subtitles. I downloaded the opening and ending theme songs. It was pretty intense and I’m surprised you guys never noticed.”  
  
“Anime?”  
  
“MANGA?”  
  
“I support piracy.”  
  
Phobos slapped Meouch’s arm. ‘ _ So you became obsessed, and we never noticed? _ ’  
  
“Seems like it. If you want, I can bring over some of my burned CDs and some of the legit ones I bought. So you can check out the music. I know you guys are probably more interested in that then all the other things.”  
  
“I still want to know what an anime is.” Sung tilted his head to the side.  
  
“MANGA IS A FORM OF MEDIA, OR A FORM OF NUTRITION?”  
  
Tabatha laughed, “Anime is just the colloquial term for Japanese Animation. Manga is a graphic novel from Japan. It’s read right to left, which is a trip and a half. There’s also Manhwa, which is Korean, and is read left to right, like we normally do. I have a couple of different books I can lend you. Some monthly publications with both.”  
  
“How’d we never notice?” Meouch pulled the oversized bear into his lap, hands going to knead the soft squishy belly.  
  
“Probably because I wasn’t being outlandishly insistent in sharing all my love for it. It’s pretty weird isn’t it? Besides, back in the day it was an insult to be called an Otaku, now it’s an insult to be called a Weeb.”  
  
“Otaku?”  
  
“Weeb?”  
  
“They’re basically the same thing. Anime fanatics, people who slide Japanese into their speech, those who appear to be obsessed with two-D girls and boys.”  
  
‘ _ Do you know any Japanese? _ ’  
  
“Uhm, I know a little bit. I’m not fluent, nor even conversational.”  
  
‘ _ Well, go on. _ ’  
  
“I know arigato, like you know the song, ‘Domo arigato, mister Roboto. Domo. Domo’.” Meouch bobbed his head side to side.  
  
“Well I mean, that’s a pretty informal way of saying ‘thanks’. You’d use it for your friends, or people you’re really close to. Just saying arigato is also up there in informality. Then you have the more polite ‘ _ arigato gozaimasu _ .’ There’s the words ‘ _ hai _ ’ and ‘ _ īe _ ’ which are yes and no respectively. You’re welcome is ‘ _ douitashimashite _ ’ which I remembered by saying ‘don’t touch my moustache’.” The girl covered her mouth while she laughed. “You guys are all looking at me like you’ve never heard me speak another language before.”  
  
“Because we haven't, kiddo.”  
  
“Bonjour, comment ça va? Je vais bien, et toi?”  
  
‘ _ French, right? _ ’  
  
“That’s right.”  
  
“You know French, too?” Sung leant forward from his position on the coffee table.  
  
“Again, all super basic. It was a required class in high school. How is it that you guys have lived here this long and still don’t know this?”  
  
Sung and Meouch looked at each other over the large bear. Honestly? They didn’t have an answer.  
  
‘ _ I think learning sign language was where we drew the line. For learning other languages I mean. _ ’  
  
“You know what. That’s fair. Anyways. I’m gonna take this little guy home.” She gently lifted the bear from Meouch’s kneading fingers. “I’ll bring over some stuff later for you okay?  _ Ja mata. _ ”

* * *

Havve flipped the page of the manga in his hands, the cover displaying a man with the barrel of a gun pressed along the side of his nose, facing up. He was wearing a crown, and what appeared to be robes. “What are you reading?”  
  
“SAIYUKI. THE PRIEST SMOKES AND FIRES A BLESSED GUN AT DEMONS. LADY TABATHA APPEARED APPREHENSIVE WHEN I ASKED FOR SOMETHING THAT FEATURED LESS GIRLS WITH COMICALLY LARGE EYES.”  
  
Sung switched his gaze over to Phobos clutching a beat up MP3 player and nodding his head to the music filtering through the headphones he was wearing. He held in his other hand, a book with a petite girl with blond hair and large green eyes.  
  
“I see.”  
  
Meouch was lounging in front of the tv, his tail flicking side to side. He watched as a guy, who appeared to be a scythe, spoke to his wielder, a small girl with twin pigtails. “And you’re watching?”  
  
“Soul Eater. It’s pretty interesting. One of the characters is called Death the Kidd. With two D’s. Goes apeshit when the toilet paper isn’t folded the exact right way.” Sung shrugged, and got up on the coffee table before his lounging bandmate.

* * *

Turns out, Tabby was more than capable of coming up with handmade gifts for everyone.  
  
They each received a gift, wrapped in black paper with a white bow.  
  
A new pair of gardening gloves for Phobos, with vines wrapping around the thumb. “You have such a green thumb and I couldn’t help it.”  
  
Havve received a belt and holster for his drumsticks, the fake leather was stitched with white thread to match the android’s paint job. “I know you tend to lose your sticks more often than not while on tour. Or you can repurpose it for a knife. I can’t stop you.”  
  
A headband and matching armband for Meouch. “I know how your mane gets in your eyes, plus with the arm band, you have a spot to hide your smokes.”  
  
Sung gently tore through the dark paper, after pulling the bow open. He received a handmade pouch for a pair of glasses. The outside was the same sturdy fake leather, like Havve’s belt, but inside was yellow, the fabric soft to the touch. “I know you keep scratching your sunglasses. Hopefully this will help keep them protected.”  
  
The guys wrapped up their human in a big group hug, each ruffling her hair and making the girl laugh along with them.  


* * *

“So are we going to do this every year now, or was it just a one time thing?” Sung looked over from where he was perched on the coffee table.  
  
“Hm?” The small human hummed from her spot on the floor leaning against Havve’s legs.  
  
“Valentine’s and White Day. Every year? Or just this once?”  
  
Havve and Tabby turned the pages of their books at the same time, it was odd to see. “Depends on you guys. You’re not going to give me a huge bear every year are you?”  
  
Meouch laughed, “Oh hell no. I think I’m good without that disaster again.”  
  
The girl laughed as she closed her book, the cover showing a boy with black hair slicked back and a green school uniform. “That’s fair. I don’t even want to know how long it took you guys to make it.”  
  
“TOO LONG. SWITCH?”  
  
She held the book up, Havve plucking it from her grasp before putting a book with a fairly plain cover in her hand. It looked like the sea. “Oh I didn’t realize I lent this to you. How’d you like it?”  
  
“I FEEL MORE PARTIAL TO WHAT YOU CALL ‘SHONEN’ TYPES. BUT THAT WAS MORE ACCEPTABLE THAN THE LARGE EYES OF ‘SHOJO’.” Havve flipped open the cover of the manga in his hand.  
  
The human hummed, “Josei is better than shojo for you, huh? I’ll have to check to see if I have any seinen manga at home.”  
  
“MEOUCH HAS TAKEN UP PIRACY AGAIN, MUCH TO PHOBOS’ CHAGRIN. HE HAS FOUND A SITE I CAN READ FROM ON THE TABLET.”  
  
“Oh which website? All the old one’s I used to use are down. And you guys have rekindled my love of reading.” The girl shifted her weight to lean against Meouch.  
  
“I’ll share it with you, only if you can deal with Phobos and his music problem.”  
  
She blinked several times and shifted her gaze to the loveseat.  
  
Phobos was now reading Saiyuki, headphones on and oblivious to the conversation around him. “Music problem?”  
  
“He is obsessed with the CDs you lent us. He needs more music and I don’t know where to start,” the man ran a hand through his mane.  
  
“I have a plan.”

* * *

The plan involved YouTube and prior knowledge to some weird not real idol or something.  
  
“What’s the thing called?” Sung squinted over her shoulder.  
  
“Vocaloid. It’s a music making program. You can get it in many different languages. And if you know how to manipulate the voice banks, you can get rid of the super robotic sounds.” Her fingers danced over the keyboard as she compiled a playlist of videos.  
  
“Can you play the juice one again?”  
  
“Stuck in your head?”  
  
“Yes.”  
  
A few clicks, and the weird advertisement, not real advertisement, for fruit and vegetable juice played. The song was very catchy and Sung found himself bobbing his head in time to the music.   
  
“How much is 200 yen anyways?”  
  
“Roughly like... Two bucks or something.”  
  
“Huh, interesting.”

* * *

“What happens when he becomes obsessed with this?” Meouch puffed his cigarette smoke through his nose.  
  
“Well there’s a site I use online to get all my songs. I’ll share that with him. I dunno if they have any Vocaloid stuff. Shouldn’t be too hard to source.” The girl adjusted her scarf as they walked back from the corner store together.  
  
“I mean, when he wants the program. I’m not shelling out the money for it. I looked up how much it was.”  
  
The girl shuddered and it most likely had nothing to do with the cold. “Is it expensive Commander?” he looked towards the tallest of the group.  
  
“Unfortunately. It may have a cute fake idol on it. But the program is marketed for professionals.” Tabby rubbed her hands together before stuffing them in her pockets.  
  
“We’re professionals, shouldn’t we get a discount or something?”  
  
Meouch huffed through his nose. “I can get us the biggest discount if it comes to it.”  
  
“There’s also something called Utauloid, same concept, but the voicebanks are made by regular people. You can probably also source it for free.”  
  
The two men hummed in thought.  
  
“We’ll just have to see how tomorrow goes, huh?”  
  
“Yeah, it probably won’t be that bad.”  
  
“As long as he wears headphones yeah. If I hear that stupid juice song one more time, I’m going to borrow one of Havve’s knives.” The butt of the cigarette was thrown against the snow covered pavement and crushed under his heel.  
  
Tabby just laughed and began humming the song, running a short distance before the bassist picked her up and threw her into a snowbank.  
  
Sung ran up behind the pair and pushed Meouch into the snow. Calling out, “For the green juice-u!”  
  
The girl shrieked with laughter as snow flew all around them and Meouch spluttered while trying to push himself out of the snow.   
  
“You’re so toast, Doctor Sung.” A soft growl came from the snow, followed by a squawk and more laughter.  
  
“Run, Sung! Run!”  
  
With that last call, he made a mad dash towards their house. If he had enough of a head start, he should be able to find all the knives and hide them before his inevitable demise.


	3. Hatsune Miku

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're interested in the songs below, they're linked for your listening pleasure :D

They gathered around the laptop and projector that the girl brought over. “So Phobs, I hear you’re real into the music. I got a gift for you today.”  
  
‘ _A gift? Your old MP3 player is gift enough_ ,’ Phobos gently tried to dissuade the girl.  
  
“Psh,” she waved him off before double checking cables. “Nonsense. We’re going to bring you out of the 90’s and into the future.” As the laptop booted up, her wallpaper was a drawing of Miku, with soft bubbles of color all around her projected onto the wall.  
  
“You’ll love it,” Sung nodded, watching the dark skinned alien’s face pinch in concern.  
  
‘ _Alright,_ ’ he still seemed unsure about the whole situation.  
  
“Now I’m going to tell you a little bit about what we’re going to watch today. Both for your sake and Havve’s who was uninterested in joining our musical exploration on YouTube.”  
  
“I WOULD RATHER NAP IN THE RAIN.”  
  
“Great! Love the enthusiasm!” Tabby clapped her hands together. “We’re going to watch a whole load of PVs, promotional videos, and MVs, music videos. A lot of the MVs are fanmade, while PVs are made at the behest of the creator of the song. All the music from now on will have been made through the Vocaloid program. The most iconic of these virtual idols, is Hatsune Miku, henceforth called Miku-chan during this presentation.”   
  
The girl cleared her throat before pulling up a folder of pictures, opening them up onto the classic design of Miku. “This is the first version of Miku-chan, we’re now on generation four, but some of the songs we’re listening to are all from these older voice banks. Miku-chan is actually a second generation Vocaloid. Her predecessors are MEIKO and KAITO, for the Japanese versions of the program. Also in the second generation, we have the Kagamine twins, Rin and Len. In the third generation we have Megurine Luka and Kamui Gakupo. Now I can hear what you’re asking. ‘Tabby, what the flying fuck are all these names, what is this program? Why is the purple one so fucking extra?’ And I have almost all the answers!”  
  
“Vocaloid is a program aimed at professional music makers, it comes with voice banks so that the creator can make a vocal track for their song. The more you fiddle with the voice banks, the smoother you can get some of the songs to sound. The original MEIKO and KAITO songs all sound very robotic, and so do a lot of the second generation voice banks. Getting into the third generation, Luka’s voice bank was one of the smoothest with both a Japanese and English voice bank. But even with that, Miku-chan was still the poster child for Vocaloid. Gakupo is so extra because his voice bank is based on a real artist’s voice. They paid Gackt the big bucks to lend his voice to the program. Probably why he has such a weird outfit.”  
  
Sung’s head spun, he hadn’t been prepared for the large info dump. He just wanted the Juice song.  
  
“Anyways, let’s listen to some of these songs. We’ll start with ‘[Po-Pi-Po](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mco3UX9SqDA)’ since I know how much Sung loves that one.” She switched from the pictures to YouTube which already had the video queued up.  
  
“Yes!” Sung pumped his fist.  
  
Meouch only groaned and slouched into the couch even more.  
  
They cycled through different songs, all with different levels of animation. The most intriguing ones Tabby had clearly left for today.  
  
“One of the most interesting things is how people use these songs to tell stories. So we’ll do the short two-parter. [Late Night Madness](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGMO1ko5EuM) and [Dark Woods Circus](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsjTBdiPq8o). The first is sung by Miku, the second by Rin, featuring Miku, Len, and Kaito.”  
  
The videos played and Sung was suddenly alarmed, young people listened to this? Someone wrote these? A head tumbled down a pile of body parts, that became the two headed barker for the circus. “Holy fuck.”  
  
Tabby nodded. “Yeah it can be a bit much. Not all songs are dark like this. Although [Spice](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19a3czYhykc) and [RIP=RELEASE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaqpQ1UNzeU) are also a little eh. Leaning more towards older teen and adult listeners.” She pulled up a video of the purple one again. “Let’s cleanse with [Dancing Samurai](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfuwPcfxGPE) first.”  
  
True to her word, it was a palate cleanser before she played the other two songs. About a man sleeping around and one of the women hurt by him.  
  
‘ _This is fascinating. How on earth did you find out about this?_ ’ Phobos asked before she could queue up the next song.  
  
She smiled from the other side of the coffee table, “Well, when you randomly listen to Japanese music on YouTube, you eventually run into either an original song, or a cover of the song you looked up done by one of the Vocaloids. In fact, I’m going to take you on a wild trip of songs right after The World is Mine.”  
  
Sung was amazed, there were so many different songs, this could potentially help Phobos open up to more than the same forty songs on a beat up MP3 player.  
  
Sung wasn’t paying attention and missed the title for the next song playing. But everything was red. It must be the red Vocaloid. Meka? Moko? Close enough. Sure enough, the song revolved around a woman with an incredible hunger, eating everything in her home until she ate herself.  
  
Meouch was the one who muttered the “What the fuck,” that broke the silence of the room.  
  
“You’re all familiar with the seven deadly sins, right? That [song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2sDw0iC0Rg) embodied the sin of Gluttony. The Duchess Bianca Conchita ate everything until she consumed herself.”  
  
“SO THERE IS A SERIES OF SONGS ABOUT THE SINS?”  
  
“Yes! And a sub series. They’re all loosely connected. They take place in the same world, but at different times. The next one I’m putting on is the one that put Mothy, or Akuma P. out there. [The Daughter of Evil](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5jmoqYup44).”  
  
The odd fairytale like lilt to the song was a little alarming especially paired with the stark yellow, black, and white combination. A princess, so full of herself, eventually getting overthrown by the people.  
  
“‘Oh it’s time for tea’? That’s her last words? That’s so messed up Tabs,” Meouch was leaning forward in his seat now.  
  
“Hmm, something like that yeah.” Her smile told him that she was hiding something up her sleeve.  
  
‘ _There is another song in this subseries, isn’t there? Her twin, the servant with a face that seems familiar,_ ’ Phobos was smiling, his eyes darting from the projected image to the human sitting in front of them.  
  
“Bingo! When I go to the Asian Food Mart, I’ll bring you extra treats.”  
  
‘ _Pocky, I want to try it,_ ’ Phobos was probably as excited as the human. Sung was beginning to think maybe it was a bad idea to invite a human to do a casual presentation on virtual idols.  
  
“Of course.” She queued up the next song, which like Phobos predicted was called [Servant of Evil](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnO96AyugVs).  
  
It had that same fairytale jangle, but slowed down to an almost music box quality. It was sung by the male twin, who in that moment sounded very feminine. He ends up taking the fall for his sister, the quote of ‘it’s time for tea’ before the guillotine falls to convince the masses.  
  
“Holy shit,” he muttered into the silence.  
  
“Yup. I’ll get you the full list and what order to watch them in. I think there’s a novel or manga out for it now too? It’s pretty amazing.”  
  
“ARE THERE ANY OTHER SONGS THAT HAVE INSPIRED OTHER MEDIA OUTLETS?”  
  
He was shocked, he figured Havve may have checked out, but he was still powered up and still looming behind the couch.  
  
“Yeah, there’s two anime I can think of off the top of my head Mekaku City Actors, I don’t know the song it is based off, and Black Rock Shooter, by the song of the same name. I think there’s also manga. I know there’s figures of it though.”  
  
“PUT THAT ONE ON NEXT PLEASE.”  
  
The girl smiled and nodded, the soft tapping of her keyboard as she typed in the search bar. She scrolled through a couple of the videos before zeroing in on the correct [one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLzOrik5YJ8). It hadn’t been one she queued up then. Interesting.  
  
This one had the feel and look of a typical action music video, and he wasn’t disappointed. Although it didn’t have typical animation, still images with moving parts, it was emotionally moving. It told the story of a girl in this weird world. And then her eye burst into flame and her arm turned into a gun.  
  
“MEOUCH. PLEASE DOWNLOAD THAT ANIME IMMEDIATELY. I WANT TO KNOW MORE.”  
  
“Same,” Sung agreed with the drummer.  
  
“It’s good from what I remember. But I think I’ll stop here. If we watch anymore I think Meouch might strangle me and then eat me with guac.”  
  
“Don’t tease. Human and guacamole is the bomb.”  
  
“I’ll take your word on it.” She turned off the projector and closed her laptop before tidying the cables into her bag. “Alright boys. I have to get going, but I’ll send you a couple of songs and playlists and you can go from there. Okay?”  
  
‘ _Sounds great to me, this was enlightening. I am excited to learn more._ ’

* * *

And learn more he did. They had virtual concerts for this fake idol. Projectors, glass screens, what have you. Japan appeared to not do anything in half measures.  
  
Then they received a package, addressed to Phobos from somewhere in Japan. Sung and Meouch frowned over the writing. “Is it hiragana? Or katakana?” They were far too interested in the script they couldn’t read to bother looking at the customs sticker on the side of the box.  
  
“WHAT IS THAT YOU HAVE?”  
  
“Package for Phobs, from Japan I think.” Meouch shook the box slightly.  
  
“OH GOOD. HIS MIKU PEDAL IS HERE. I SHALL FETCH HIM IMMEDIATELY TO SEE IT IN USE.” The android turned on his heel and exited into the backyard.  
  
“Did he say Miku pedal, Commander?”  
  
“He sure did, Doc. Fuck.”  
  
Had Phobos fallen in love with a virtual idol? Hadn’t Tabby mentioned something about otakus and weebs loving two-D girls and boys? Were they losing him to a virtual girl who could never hurt his heart? How could they save him from this?  
  
The package was ripped from their hands before, in a swirl of silver hair, Phobos tromped down the basement stairs at the fastest pace he’d ever seen.  
  
“I think he forgot the sunscreen.”  
  
Sung turned to look at Meouch, still shocked from the sudden appearance and disappearance of their guitarist. “What?”  
  
Meouch sighed before moving towards the basement. “He was glowing slightly. He must have been anticipating this, too excited to make sure he wouldn’t glow in the dark.”  
  
Havve already headed down the stairs while the pair were shocked by the antics of Phobos. Sung and Meouch followed the other pair into the basement, and sure enough color danced along Phobos’ normally dark skin.  
  
“Tabby would be mad if she saw you glowin’ man.”  
  
He shrugged before pulling his guitar strap over his head, with his hands now free he motioned animatedly. ‘ _Worth it. I have been waiting weeks for this._ ’  
  
“Alright, let’s hear it then.” Meouch fell into one of the bean bag chairs they left in the basement for their musical powwow sessions.  
  
Phobos grinned, the excitement palatable in the air. He strummed his first few notes, making sure his guitar was in tune. Sung watched his foot shift, the soft click of the pedal. When the guitarist picked at the notes, Miku’s robotic voice came out of the speakers. Sung was floored.  
  
Meouch was silent for a moment before howling with laughter. “Oh my GOD. What is this? Why is this? It’s amazing!”  
  
Sung couldn’t help but laugh with the Commander. He was right, it was such a ridiculous thing, and of course now it was something they had to use. If only they could figure out what to do with such a ridiculous device.  
  
Havve shook his head, “I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY YOU ARE LAUGHING, BUT THE PEDAL IS FASCINATING. PLEASE PLAY A FEW SONGS IF YOU CAN. I WANT TO HEAR IT.”  
  
Phobos nodded, he played several notes, whenever he strummed a cord though, the pedal would make a horrific distorted noise. He seemed frustrated when he tried to play anything at speed, and Sung made a mental note to remind Phobos to check the tracking on the pedal later. Leaning over the guitarist changed the knob to something Sung couldn’t see. She was now saying words or syllables at least, and Meouch was wheezing with laughter. Phobos also seemed to get used to the odd delay the more he shifted through notes.  
  
Sung smiled as he watched Phobos radiate joy and contentment at his brand new guitar pedal. Maybe it wasn’t that he loved a fake idol, maybe he just liked the Vocaloids and the creativity they brought forth.  
  
It was definitely food for thought.


	4. Mount Fuji and the Vending Machines

Sung frowned, this was such a weird show about time travel. It brought up a lot of good points about time travel paradoxes and such. Maybe being a real time traveler took away some of the shine of the show itself.  
  
What he was fascinated by, was the main character’s absolute obsession with Dr. Pepper. A soda of all things. Called it the drink for the geniuses or something ridiculous. The main character seemed a little unhinged, but that was fine.  
  
He was more fascinated by all the vending machines and the ‘Oopas’. At least that's what he thinks they’re called. Small little trinkets from coin operated machines.  
  
“Oh, you’re interested in gacha machines?” Tabby sat next to the coffee table he was perched on.  
  
“Gatcha?” he turned his eyes away from the screen to look at the human next to him.  
  
“There’s no t, gacha. It’s named after the sound the machine makes. The sound of the capsule hitting the chute and then pinging off the cover.”  
  
He watched as the girl in the blue sundress-type shirt placed her coins into the machine and received her prize. “Interesting. Gacha, huh?” He let himself ponder the concept as the show continued to roll onwards.

* * *

“So what you’re saying is we have the gacha machines too?”  
  
The girl sighed, “Yes. You can always find them in malls and movie theaters. Usually you put in a loonie or a toonie for toys, candy ranges from a quarter to a loonie.”  
  
“We need to go, right now!”  
  
“YOUR GLASSES SUNG!”  
  
Sung was too excited and struggled to stop his slide into the front door as the human chased after him.

* * *

‘ _ So you dragged the poor girl all over the city for a sticky hand and a bag full of candy? Could you not have gone to Sugar Mountain? _ ’ Phobos sighed before prodding through the bag of miscellaneous and random candies.  
  
“The experience was so worth it! I actually wanted the key chain, it was a little UFO ship. I thought it would be great for the keys to the van, you know?”  
  
“YOU SENT LADY TABATHA HOME WITH A BUNCH OF JUNK, DIDN’T YOU?” Havve also looked through the bag, pulling out the large jawbreaker that he didn’t want to even think about at the moment.  
  
“Only like… Five of the sticky hands? And a couple other things? She said it’s like having a gambling addiction. I would have sat there all day if she hadn’t dragged me away. But I really wanted that keychain.”  
  
‘ _ Uh-huh, she’s not wrong. Once you had the keychain, you’d find something else shiny and dump all your change into. _ ’ Phobos rolled his eyes before popping some of the tiny candy bananas into his mouth.  
  
“GAMBLING FOR CHILDREN. I DO NOT THINK THE YOUTH SHOULD BE CONDITIONED SO YOUNG.”  
  
“I think that's why they have just candy ones too. They put the money in and get immediate gratification, and parents can curb it.”  
  
Phobos and Sung watched in slowly dawning horror as Havve’s metal jaw opened. The android placed the large sphere in the war path, letting his jaw shatter the candy into a thousand little pieces. “HMM THIS DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE THE WAY YOU EAT THESE.”  
  
Sung brushed the colourful shrapnel off the front of his shirt. “No, no I don’t think that’s the way you eat those. But I want to film you doing that and show it to Tabby.”  
  
Phobos could only hold his head and shake it.

* * *

“So what you’re telling me is that they sell everything in vending machines.” Meouch’s tail flicked side to side while he watched the human cutting the apple in their kitchen.  
  
“Everything from soup and hot coffee in cans, to smokes, to used underwear.” She placed the small apple slice in front of Sung, who lifted it up. The infamous apple bunny.  
  
Sung stopped halfway to putting the morsel in his mouth. “Wait, did you say used underwear?”  
  
She hummed, nodding her head before handing a slice off to Meouch. “Yeah, I don’t get it either. But it’s a thing.”  
  
“But what do they use it for?” Meouch, with no hesitance popped the apple into his mouth.  
  
Tabby looked uncomfortable, and Sung decided he did not want to know. “How about you google it, and never tell a soul. Cause I do  **not** want to know.”  
  
The small grateful smile he was shot urged him to eat his slice of apple.  
  
“Do you remember the Japanese word for apple yet?”  
  
Meouch tapped his finger against his fuzzy chin. “No, but bunny is usagi, right? Like the name of that girl from Sailor Moon?”  
  
Tabby laughed, “Yeah that’s right. How about you Sung?”  
  
“Nope, no such luck. But why is she called Usagi, what do bunnies have to do with the moon?”  
  
Tabby laughed and handed them each another slice of apple. “The word for apple is ‘ringo’. And she is named Usagi, because in Japanese myths, rabbits live on the moon. So calling the princess of the moon Usagi fits.”  
  
Sung hummed around his piece of apple. That was really interesting, there were so many interesting things about Japan and he wanted to learn them all.

* * *

“Sung, you never want to know what the used underwear is for. It’s gross, and my general opinion of the human race has sunk below the ocean’s depths.”  
  
Sung blinked as Meouch patted his shoulder and headed outside for his cigarette.  


* * *

“SO WHAT YOU ARE TELLING ME, IS THAT ON TOP OF MOUNT FUJI THERE IS A VENDING MACHINE?”  
  
Havve was sitting on the bench in their backyard while Tabby leaned over the fence.  
  
“Yeah, sells drinks and stuff. One day I want to hike up the mountain and have a drink from that vending machine.”  
  
“DO YOU THINK THEY SELL THAT VEGETABLE JUICE FROM THE SONG IN THAT VENDING MACHINE?”  
  
Tabby paused before laughing so hard she almost stubbled from her perch. “Maybe, I don’t know? Why?” She rubbed her palm over the side of her face, brushing away stray tears from the force of her laughter.  
  
“IF WE COULD CONVINCE LORD PHOBOS THE JUICE WAS THERE, I COULD SEE HIM SPRINT UP THE MOUNTAIN.”  
  
“I wouldn’t recommend it. I don’t know alien physiology or anything, but even humans have to work up for climbing that high up. Oxygen gets real thin up there, people who climb too fast tend to suffer from altitude sickness. So I would make sure to bring an adult-sized child leash.”  
  
“YOU MAKE A GOOD POINT. I WILL MAKE SURE NOT TO TELL HIM THE VEGETABLE JUICE IS UP THERE SO WE CAN TAKE OUR TIME.”  
  
“A better plan indeed.”

* * *

“You’re telling me she knows about a vending machine on top of a mountain?” Meouch stared at him over his own sunglasses as he hosed down the side of the van.  
  
“Yes!”  
  
“And this is important how?” Meouch took a long drag on his lung rocket, before turning the hose towards the keytarist.  
  
Sung danced away from the freezing cold water. “Hey! Watch it!”  
  
“No.”  
  
Meouch continued to try and hose the smaller alien down. “I won’t stop until you tell me why this is important.”  
  
“She wants to go to Japan as much as we do!”  
  
Sung’s one regret was that he stopped to talk, the taller alien spraying him down with ice cold water.  
  
“I think you’re the one who wants to go most of all. Aren't you?”  
  
“I think it would be pretty neat, yeah. Don’t you think Phobs and Havve want to go?”  
  
“I think Phobos is fine watching his virtual idol through the internet, and has Hogan stated explicitly that he wants to go?”  
  
“Well… No.”  
  
“And have I?”  
  
“But you seemed so interested in getting smokes from a vending machine!”  
  
“I’ll give you that much. The novelty of it is interesting. But we don’t have the money to take ourselves and a human to Japan.”  
  
“We could use the ship!”  
  
“The one you crash landed in the yard at Tabs’ grade school?”  
  
“Oh right. I still have to fix it.”  
  
“Yeah man. Even then, you gotta convert our monopoly money into yen. That costs money too.”  
  
“You’re right…”  
  
Meouch sighed while spraying out the wheel well, the water ricocheting everywhere. “Look, we can go, but it’s a lot of work. You can’t just pick up and go. Okay?”  
  
Sung launched himself at Meouch, wrapping him up in a hug and ruffling his mane.

* * *

‘ _ So you want my help figuring out how to get to Japan? _ ’ Phobos stared at him with a flat look.  
  
“Yes.”  
  
‘ _ No. _ ’  
  
“Why not?”  
  
‘ _ If you want to go, just for a few vending machines and the gacha machines, you’re wasting your time and money. _ ’  
  
Sung made a small miscalculation. “Oh.”  


* * *

“So you’re saying you want to know more about Japan to prove that you love it?”  
  
Tabatha frowned over the fence. Did she doubt him too?  
  
“Yeah, everyone thinks I’m being frivolous about the whole thing.” He huffed and leaned against the wood, staring out over his neighbour’s yard.  
  
“I mean it's easy to confuse the two. But going to Japan is going to be costly.”  
  
“That’s what Meouch said!” He slumped even harder against the side of the fence.  
  
“Because he’s not wrong. Even if you zoomed over on your ship, which I’m pretty sure is still on the school roof where you left it, you still have to pay for loads of things; Lodging, food, things you want to buy. Then, I know this is wild to you, you have to pay customs. Canada is very particular about their taxes.”  
  
Sung only made a monotone groaning sound.  
  
“I know, but maybe you can channel your love into something the guys will understand. Like the time you made the song for Tӧlvukona.” She gently removed her gardening gloves before standing up with a soft groan.  
  
“Computer Wife… Yeah I could do that probably. You think it would work?”  
  
“It worked for her didn’t it? Sometimes music is the universal language spoken by all.”  
  
Sung perked up from his spot against the fence. “You’re right!”  
  
Her laugh chased him into the house where he excitedly pounded down the stairs into the basement.

* * *

Sung sighed as he slumped into the beanbag chair. He had no ideas. How could he show that he loved Japan in a song.  
  
How could he show that he was being honest about it to the others?  
  
Maybe a run would help him clear his head.  
  
He slowly trudged up the steps, listening to someone yell something in Japanese from the living room.  
  
Maybe he could go for the run after he sees what’s on.

* * *

He got sucked into another anime, this one about bike riding of all things. It was amazing how much information could be delivered through an animated media like this.  
  
Team races were also individual races. Teams composed of six people, what appeared to be two climbers, two ‘sprinters’, and two all-rounders.  
  
“Oh fuck, I was going to go for a run!” He scrambled off the table and rushed for the door. He wasn’t going to prove anything if he sat around watching anime all day.

* * *

Sung jogged through the streets, letting the sun warm his cheeks. Tabby finally convinced him to wear a hat with his sunglasses when he decided to jog farther than a few blocks out. Something about not everyone ready to see him as is.  
  
Sure his hair was iridescent, like his freckles. And she had said his eyes were like disconcerting mirrors. So maybe an ounce of discretion was worth it.  
  
His feet carried him all the way to the school where he left his spaceship. He gazed up at it, frowning. If they used it, they could save money on lodging and the plane tickets. It then became an issue of if they could bring the human too. She was bound by Earth laws more than they were. Sure they participated and followed them, but she couldn’t just hop off to a new planet if things don’t work out.  
  
“Are you here to pick up your junk?” A tired looking man was standing a few feet away from him.  
  
“No, not yet. I can take a look at it and see what parts I need so I can take it off your hands though.” He rubbed the back of his neck.  
  
The older man sighed. “You have a month. If anymore children get hurt getting on the roof to look at it, I’ll make sure it gets crushed at the dump.”  
  
Sung let out a nervous laugh, “You got it boss. Can I call you boss? I’m going to call you boss.”


	5. Japanquest and the Search for the Japanese Booking Agent

Sung figured it out, they just needed a Japanese booking agent. Now he just needed a song to play to show everyone how much they all loved Japan.  
  
That could come together after he gets the space ship off the school roof before the superintendent junks it and sues him.

* * *

“You need some weight there buddy?” Tabby’s head popped over the side of the fence.  
  
Sung paused in the middle of his pushups, it had been an age since he had her help him work out. “Yeah, bring something to read though. I’m thinking.”  
  
He heard a soft huff of laughter, even as her feet thumped against the ground on the other side of the fence. He continued to press himself up and lower himself down. Working his muscles to ground him and focus his thoughts.   
  
Soft steps through the grass called attention to his guest. “May I?” her voice was soft, respecting his need to keep his head clear.  
  
“Yeah, let me put my knees down first.” He found, even though she was only a slight bit taller than him now, it was still easier for the pair to prepare with an ounce of stability.  
  
Her weight was comfortable against his back, small hand pressing between his shoulder blades as he shifted back into position. The added weight made it slower going, but the gentle burn was worth it in his muscles.  
  
Now the soundtrack surrounding him was the grass rustling in the soft breeze, the mingling of their breath and the soft flutter of pages.  
  
“You going to talk to me, or are you going to keep going?” Tabby sounded like she was mildly uninterested, but he knew that the human could tell when things were eating him or any of the band members alive.  
  
“I’m upset you didn’t bring me any candy. I am trying to figure out how to get you back for it.”  
  
A derisive snort. “Bullshit. But I’ll make sure to bring you some later. Okay?”  
  
He hummed even as he lowered himself to the ground. Letting the girl roll off him even as he rolled to his back to do crunches. She grasped his ankles unprompted, not like he needed the assistance, but it was grounding.  
  
“I can’t think of a way to show my love for Japan.”  
  
He didn’t look her in the eye even as he began curling off the ground. Afraid of what he might see in that green gaze.  
  
“Why not dance or do something that’s incredibly you?”   
  
He flinched, before he shifted to look at the human, she was looking at the book she had propped open with a rock.  
  
“What?”  
  
“If you can’t think of a way to play it out in a solo on your synth or whatever, just high kick your way into Japan.”  
  
He pushed himself further up to grasp the girl by her shoulders and shake her. “You’re a genius!”  
  
“Y-our-’re Well-el-co-come,” she managed to get out even while he was shaking her.  
  
When he let go of the poor girl she flopped backwards into the grass. “Oh god I think I’m going to hurl.”  
  
Sung forgot how fragile humans could be in his excitement, but he was sure she would be fine. He was at least pretty sure she would be.

* * *

“So you want to make a pre-recorded track that you will play alongside, while we play. And then you’ll do high kicks?” Meouch frowned at the over eager time traveler.  
  
“Yes!”  
  
“AND YOU WANT PHOBOS TO SHRED LIKE NEVER BEFORE TO SHOW HIS LOVE FOR JAPAN?”  
  
“Yes!”  
  
‘ _And for Hogan to beat the shit out of his drums?’  
  
_ “Yes! And for Meouch to slap the shit out of his bass!”  
  
The other three band members stared at each other a moment. “I mean, I don’t see why not.”  
  
“AND YOU WANT TO DEDICATE IT TO A JAPANESE BOOKING AGENT?”  
  
‘ _I am still trying to figure that out as well._ ’  
  
“Because they can help us figure out a budget or whatever we need to make happen to get to Japan and experience it and immerse ourselves in the culture!”  
  
Again the other three exchanged looks, figuring out if they wanted to agree with him or not.  
  
“Alright, let’s get this thing written then, I guess.”

* * *

The girl had a game on her phone, headphones placed firmly over her ears as she tapped away on her phone. He waited until it seemed she was done before tapping her on the shoulder.  
  
She jumped from her patio chair with a shriek, throwing her phone across the yard.  
  
Sung flinched, Tabby was going to chew him out now. How many times had she told him not to scare the daylights out of her. And she threw her phone, so he was extra dead.  
  
Picking up the phone, he moved back towards the startled human. “Sorry, didn’t mean to spook you.”  
  
She had a hand firmly placed on her chest as she reigned in her breathing and more than likely galloping heartbeat.  
  
“Your only saving grace is that you brought him back.”  
  
He’d never heard her gender her phone before, although that wasn’t something he was unaccustomed to. “Him?”  
  
She removed her phone from his grasp and unlocked the phone to turn it to him. There on the screen was a man with long orange hair holding out his hand with a smirk on his lips before dropping back into a neutral body pose.  
  
“What the?” He squinted at the scream, there was a small area next to where the man on the screen was standing that had what appeared to be his speech. Other areas of the screen were forign as hell to him. “What is this?”  
  
“A gacha game. The rates are garbage, but you can put your favorite boy on the front screen and he talks to you. I love it.”  
  
He could only shake his head, “Yeah?”  
  
“Shut up! Don’t talk to me or my eleven boyfriends ever again!” She huffed and stormed into her house. Sung could only shake his head, he hadn’t been judging her, but he was now interested in this ridiculous game. Maybe once she cooled off a bit, she’d show it to him.

* * *

“So I realized that you came over to ask me something, and I got mad for no reason. So what did you want?”  
  
She stood in the front doorway, not inviting herself in like she normally did.  
  
“I’m not upset, just wanted you to see what we were working on. But if you’re busy, we can do it another time?” He stepped to the side to let her in.  
  
She entered and glared at him suspiciously, even as she toed off her shoes. “What would I be busy with?”  
  
“Showing me your game, I am interested in knowing more about your eleven boyfriends and how it works as a gacha game.”  
  
She snorted a laugh through her nose, trying to hide it behind her wrist. “You’re ridiculous. Alright, I’ll give you a crash course in gacha games, and the dangers of them as well.”

* * *

She was playing a game with male idols, but also had one with girl idols. She switched between the two to show him the difference between the two, but even he noticed she favored the male idols. She also showed him other games with the same concept, but without the rhythm game aspects. A few of them were idle games, others slightly more involved. Some marketed as ‘dating sims’, others as ‘strategy’. She explained that micro transactions were how a lot of these games, that had no ads at all, made all their money. How many times she almost fell into the trap of buying just the smallest package to get just the amount of in-game items or currency or whatever to get another pull.  
  
He nodded, when Havve said it was like gambling, he didn’t realize that companies could target a whole demographic like this. It was wild.  
  
He promised that if he got the games, he would not purchase anything. No matter the temptation.  
  
She nodded solemnly, before pointing out that a lot of the in-game events gave away pretty decent items and cards. That as long as you weren't being super competitive, you could actually get a few things free and at a reasonable pace. It was a labor of love for her now, he could tell as she explained each of the ‘boys’ and their appeal.  
  
He still didn’t understand why she had the one who said ‘my lady’ in English with his Japanese accent.   
  
He was okay with not understanding everything that came out of Japan.

* * *

She nodded as she watched him kick and punch his way through the song. When it ended he hunched over heaving for breath. Maybe he under thought how much this would take out of him.  
  
“I like it. Don’t get me wrong, but I think you should pace yourself a little better. What if Phobos added in a _third_ solo?”  
  
The guitarist shifted his head side to side, before brushing his braided hair over his shoulder. He thought for a moment before picking out another solo that would absolutely fit in with the song.  
  
“MAYBE IF YOU CEASED FLAILING DURING HIS SOLOS, YOU WOULDN’T BE AS WINDED.”  
  
“Or maybe he should work out more?” Meouch laughed before shifting the strap of his bass slightly.  
  
“No, he has to think about performances as a whole. Imagine for a moment, that you weren’t the feline lazing in the sun and a chronic smoker, you have been playing your whole set, then halfway through, to three-quarters of the way through, you have to expend all this energy. You’d kill yourself. So Havve has a point. Maybe instead support Phobos’ solos.”  
  
She had a point and they all thought about it heavily.

* * *

Finally, they were going to play their song for the masses. Toronto being their home turf, and the place they introduced almost all their new songs, it seemed fitting.  
  
“And that last one goes out to all the ladies here tonight!” Meouch’s voice cuts over the cheer of the crowd.  
  
Sung nodded, his helmet covering his eyes and making it easier to hide his hair. “Now this next one is special.”  
  
“Oh?”  
  
“Now if you weren’t aware, we really want to go to Japan. We love Japan.”  
  
Meouch nodded his head, “Hell yeah!”  
  
“So this one goes out to all the Japanese booking agents in the crowd tonight!”  
  
“Especially the lady Japanese booking agents!” Meouch echoed back.  
  
“To all the lady Japanese booking agents!” The ridiculous retort coming back.  
  
Pressing a button on his synth, the prerecorded track began. He motioned to his left, “Lord Phobos! Tell them how much you love Japan buddy!”  
  
He was proud when Meouch managed to keep his cool when the guitarist used the Miku pedal to talk with his guitar.  
  
“Amazing! He’s going to shred the shit out of his guitar. Commander Meouch,” he motioned to his right, who then howled into the mike before slapping out a tune, “is going to slap the shit out of his bass!”  
  
Stepping to the side, he motioned to the android in the back, “Havve Hogan here is going to slam the shit out of his drums,” the rhythm pounding behind him making him smile.  
  
Sliding back into place, he leaned over his synth, adding to the song building up around him. “And as for me, Doctor Sung, I’m going to dance like an idiot!”  
  
He could feel the sweat dripping down his neck and back even as he clapped through guitar solo number two, even Meouch joining in on the silly little claps.  
  
And when the song picked back up he began his punching and kicking in earnest. He was going to find a way to kick his way into the hearts of everyone, and get him and his friends to Japan.  
  
His own personal Japan quest.  
  
“You really did look like an idiot.” Tabatha was backstage as usual, towels in hand with bottles of water clutched in the other arm.  
  
“Thanks Tabby!”  
  
She snorted before slapping him in the face with a towel and handing him a bottle.  
  
If her fondness was anything to go by, he was on the right track to succeeding in kicking his way into the hearts of the masses. Or maybe she was just laughing at his antics. Either way was fine with him.  
  
After all, he was going to bring his Japan loving friends with him, her included.  
  
“Senpai noticed me!” Came out of his mouth, and he wrapped the human up in a sweaty hug.  
  
“That is disgusting on so many levels. Get off me! You’re gross!” He laughed as she squirmed out of his grasp.  
  
Their Japan quest was just starting and he was excited to see where it went from here.  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, you can find Ari, who did the wonderful piece above, on [Tumblr](https://blookangaroo.tumblr.com/), [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Bloo_Kangaroo), and [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/bloo_kangaroo/).

**Author's Note:**

> As per ususal, you can find me over on [tumblr](https://chibitabathasloves.tumblr.com/)!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this!


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